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Crysis 2 gone from Steam, appears on Origin

Recent FPS Crysis 2 has disappeared from the Steam store and has instead become available via EA's own proprietary Origin online outlet, a move which may indicate that other EA games are soon to follow suit.

Whilst the title is still available from other digital download sites such as Direct2Drive and Impulse, new 'Only on Origin' branding attached to Crytek's game, as well as Alice: Madness Returns, seems to indicate that the titles are on their way to becoming Origin exclusives.

Other EA titles are still on sale via Steam, but a distinct lack of promotion for Battlefield 3, due on PC this Autumn, would also seem to support the theory that many of EA's big IPs will become Origin only. Forthcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic has already been confirmed as an Origin download exclusive.

Origin launched recently as a replacement for the EA Store, combining a number of social elements with a download service and stat tracking mechanics. As part of the service, EA is offering free in-depth social and stat tracking services for Battlefield 3, intended to directly undermine Activision's paid-for CoD subscription service, Elite.

Both Valve and Electronic Arts have been contacted for further clarification on the issue.

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8 Comments

Ok. So what happens to people who have bought Crysis 2 through Steam, and need to download again in the future? Will it still be available to download? Or will they get some link to authenticate an origin version?

What will happen to EA's position publishing console versions of Valve titles?

Andrew, it still stays listed on your own Steam account it's just de-listed from the shop so no new people can buy it via Steam.

The problem I have with this is that EA are building in their own Social aspects to the service ala Steam, you can bet Activision etc will want their own variations as they sure aint going to put their stuff for sale on an EA service...are we really going to end up having multiple different downloaders and "social apps" all running at the same time?

Surely this will only really hurt their sales in the short to medium term? I mean, maybe they really do have it sussed and Origin will win some market share in the next few years, but to maximise sales surely they'd be best to keep it on Steam but put it on Origin as well with either a lower cost (maybe 20% off to reflect their bigger margin) and/or some desirable extras to entice customers over.

Stupid, stupid move if this is EA's future policy. The gamer should be allowed to choose the platform he/she plays on. Reducing the ways you can play a game is just commercial suicide. It's not a A + B equation. By not offering BF3 (for example) on Steam will not translate to the same number of subsequent purchases on Origin. This is a step backwards for PC game retail after it was going so well. At least it guarantees packaged goods are here to stay. Look's like I'll be getting a BF3 box after all....